, has been awarded a $280,00 bonus and options on 190,000 shares of US LEC stock by the company's board.

Cowell was awarded the stock options at a price of $2.50 a share. The stock (Nasdaq: CLEC) closed at $2.68 on Monday.

According to an SEC filing on Monday, the board made the bonus decision on Feb. 15 in executive session. Cowell, a director of the firm, was not present. He will earn a base salary of $350,000 in 2006 and is eligible for a bonus of between 29-171 percent of his annual salary, the board said.

US LEC posted nearly $388 million in revenue and lost $55.5 million in 2005.

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